Our wake this morning is at 5:00 am. We had breakfast at the home stay. Honestly, the worst breakfast ever. Water downed oatmeal with 3 small slices of banana, cold toast with jam or butter, eggs were decent and the option for tea/coffee to drink. At least it was enough to get us through the long day.
The second day is known to be the hardest. This day leads you to the second highest mountain in Cusco. It’s the day to trek with your backpack. It’s the day to really push pass your limit, through the incline, and face the elevation.
Tim and I left by 6:00 am. This day had more of a gradual incline versus the first day. But oh my, the “no-training” really showed us. Salkantay mountain is up at 4600 meters tall/15,090 feet.
In Peru, they often use coca leaves to help with the elevation. In the big city of Cusco, we learned about another form, other than tea, that can help alleviate the symptoms of altitude. Tim and I bought a bag of coca leaves and yipta, or a ball of condensed ash. The yipta is an activator when chewing on the coca leaves. Because of the difficulty level, it didn’t make a huge difference. It still took us a long 6 hours to only reach the top.
Luckily, the rest of the trek is decline. We were so exhausted. Tim also developed a cough which worsened from the elevation. We decided that whenever the first home stay would appear, we would call it day. There was another Argentina couple struggling as we were. We met them at the top of Salkantay pass. They were carrying camping gear, so they also decided the first campsite to appear, they would call a night (which they happen to pitch their tent at the first property [farm] presented). We all didn’t reach our home stay until about 4 hours later.
The home stay Tim and I stayed at is a farm. They have a pig, chickens, roosters, horses, ducks, cats, dogs and puppies. Next door they had a more developed stay for tour groups. Tim and I stayed at their extra private room with no electricity. “It’s a part of the experience” Tim says.
We had a yummy home cooked dinner (cooked by a pot and fire). The tea served was great, the natural herb muña, mint-like Peruvian medicinal plant.
Day 2 $$ Breakdown:
Please note: PP = per person
- Breakfast 15 soles PP
- Accommodation 25 soles PP
- Dinner 10 soles PP
The current exchange rate: $1.00 USD is equal
to about 3.84 Peruvian Soles.
Total spent: $211.5 Soles = $55.08 USD PP
Chapter 3: To Santa Teresa
Breakfast was served on the owner’s time. We each had a couple boiled eggs, a couple breads and our choice of fresh herbal tea or coffee.
We began walking at 7:00 am. Trekkers typically start in a village called Collpapampa on day 3. In this village, they have multiple different accommodations: campsites, hostels (with hot showers), bunks, and sky camps or jungle domes (with the clear glass surrounding so you can view the stars). But due to the difficulty and losing daylight the previous day, we did not reach that city. We had a longer day ahead of us.
It was a relief to know that the rest of the whole trek is decline. Often along the way, I’d get too confident, and would run down rocky hills. The moment my knee felt “off,” I stopped running down to avoid further damage. Within 30 minutes, my knee was strained. I continued to walk on it for 4 more hours.
Tim and I continued to walked until we couldn’t. My pace began to decrease. For this day, typically tour guides take a collectivo down the halfway point to Santa Teresa. We were walking it. As hours passed, we were soon to lose daylight and most of my energy was used by carrying majority of my weight on my right leg. We tried flagging down tour buses, and would quickly get denied. Another driver tried ripping us off by charging 180 soles. Fortunately, the lady at the next shack (which there we’re very few) called us a taxi. The taxi was a small, white Toyota sedan, already filled with 4 people. The driver insisted to sit on Tim’s lap. As we swirled through the dirt, windy roads, we both shared to one another.. “yeah we wouldn’t have made it in town in time.”
Once we arrived to Santa Teresa, we decided to get a private room for the night. I was excited for a normal, warm accommodation and hot shower. The two previous days were, in my opinion, too cold. For me, I felt tense and constantly on edge. The ironic thing is, the water at the private room was too hot. It literally was burning. We had to call for assistance to solve the issue. At the end of the day, Tim was more excited for a decent carbed-up dinner, being a burger and carbonara pasta.
Day 3 $$ Breakdown:
Please note: PP = per person
- Breakfast 10 soles PP
- Couple snacks along the way: banana & small bag of peanuts 5 soles (split)
- Water & Gatorade 22 soles (split)
- Dinner 43 soles (split)
- Taxi to Santa Teresa 20 soles PP
- Accommodation – private room 20 soles PP
The current exchange rate: $1.00 USD is equal
to about 3.84 Peruvian Soles.
Total Spent $296.5 Soles = $77.21 USD PP
Next post:
Chapter 4: Santa Teresa’s hot springs to Aguas Calientes
https://beyondvrose.com/2022/09/16/chapter-4-santa-teresas-hot-springs-to-aguas-calientes/
Beyond Rose 
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